My friends, I invite you to pause and reflect on the word "Promises." It's a word of hope, responsibility, and assurance. We find it not only in recovery programs, but also in the writings of scholars, the thoughts of great philosophers, and most profoundly, in the words of scripture and the teachings of God’s faithful servants—whether they speak of a Higher Power, Jesus Christ, or our Heavenly Father.
A promise, at its core, conveys an expectation of fulfillment—whether material or spiritual. It implies trust, and it invites participation.
📘 The Promises of RecoveryIn the Twelve Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a series of "promises" that follow Step 9—making amends. These are found on page 83 of the Big Book, and they read like rays of hope for the once-hopeless:
"We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness... We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it... That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear... Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change."
These promises aren't just milestones—they are living realities, fulfilled one day at a time, through spiritual effort and surrender.
🧠 The Philosophical Dimension of PromisesBut promises are not just spiritual—they are also moral and intellectual commitments.
Friedrich Nietzsche, in The Genealogy of Morals, describes the ability to make promises as a triumph of human memory and conscience. To promise, he says, is “to be able to stand surety for oneself.” This affirms a central tenet of recovery: personal responsibility.
Hannah Arendt, in The Human Condition, sees promises as the foundation of human community. In a world filled with uncertainty, promises provide continuity—just as the AA promises bring clarity amid addiction's chaos.
Immanuel Kant insists that promise-keeping is a moral imperative, not a matter of convenience. We do it because it is right—because we must.
These thinkers remind us that promises matter because character matters.
📖 Biblical Promises: Anchored in God’s FaithfulnessThe scriptures are filled with divine promises—not vague hopes, but covenants rooted in God's unchanging nature.
2 Peter 1:4 teaches that through God’s “exceeding great and precious promises,” we can “be partakers of the divine nature.”
Hebrews 10:23 reassures us: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.”
Romans 4:20–21 praises Abraham’s unwavering belief: “being fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able also to perform.”
In recovery, we’re told the promises will always materialize "if we work for them." The same is true of God’s promises—they are conditional on faith, obedience, and endurance.
✨ Latter-day Saint Teachings on PromisesLatter-day Saints speak often of covenants—promises made with God, sealed by ordinance, and sustained by obedience. These sacred commitments are part of a divine system of transformation.
Mosiah 2:41 describes the joyful result of keeping divine promises:
“Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God... they are received into heaven.”
In Doctrine & Covenants 82:10, the Lord declares:
“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”
Doctrine & Covenants 45:15–16 reminds us that the Second Coming itself is a fulfillment of promises made “unto your fathers.”
And in patriarchal blessings—those deeply personal revelations—we often hear God’s promises tailored to individual paths, contingent upon faithfulness.
Just as we "clean house" in the Steps and begin to taste joy through effort, God’s promises are not passive. They invite us to act, repent, serve, and trust.
🧹 Closing Thought: The Human and Divine PromiseWhether we look at promises made in AA, by moral philosophers, or by the Lord Himself, they share a common truth:
A promise is a bond. It is only as strong as the one who makes it—and the one who chooses to receive it.
Let us keep our promises to others and to ourselves. Let us trust in the promises of God. And let us live each day in such a way that we are ready to receive the blessings that have been spoken, written, and whispered to our hearts:
“He who promised is faithful.”
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